Survivability analysis of networked systems

Survivability is the ability of a system to continue operating despite the presence of abnormal events such as failures and intrusions. Ensuring system survivability has increased in importance as critical infrastructures have become heavily dependent on computers. We present a systematic method for performing survivability analysis of networked systems. An architect injects failure and intrusion events into a system model and then visualizes the effects of the injected events in the form of scenario graphs. Our method enables further global analyses, such as reliability, latency, and cost-benefit analyses, where mathematical techniques used in different domains are combined in a systematic manner. We illustrate our ideas on an abstract model of the United States Payment System.